The New York Times Covers The Passing of Stay High 149

Here is an excerpt from the obituary in The New York Times:

Wayne Roberts, ‘Stay High 149’ in Graffiti Circles, Is Dead at 61

Wayne Roberts was a pioneering 1970s graffiti writer known as “Stay High 149” who borrowed the haloed stick figure from the title sequence of the 1960s television series “The Saint,” put a joint in its mouth and turned it around. His “Smoker” tag, or signature, turned the heads of legions of imitators and admirers, including the anonymous teenagers who slipped into train yards at night to paint whole cars, as well as Norman Mailer, who featured him in his book “The Faith of Graffiti.

Mr. Roberts, who disappeared from the scene for some 25 years until he was rediscovered by a new generation of fans and artists in 2000, died on Monday at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. He was 61.

Read the full New York Times article here.

Text: David Gonzalez
Source: The New York Times